If you love exotic flowers, then you will love the Strelitzia. It is a real visual highlight and also easy to plant.
The Strelitzia, also known as the bird of paradise flower, belongs to the banana family and originally comes from South Africa. The name bird of paradise flower is no coincidence. Because when it blooms after about six years of cultivation, it turns out to be extremely exotic and magnificent. However, the Strelitzia is also one of the more demanding green plants, which are an evergreen eye-catcher, but also resent mistakes in care.
When planting, it is important that you take into account the origin of the banana plant. The Strelitzia originally comes from South Africa, where it is known for its magnificent blooms from December to June. In European climes, the flowering time changes and depends largely on overwintering.
Strelitzias are potted plants
The origin of the Strelitzia already reveals that it is not suitable for just putting it out in the garden. The Strelitzia is a classic container plant that is kept in warm and always frost-free regions. Even if a location in the garden bed is not suitable, you can still place the Strelitzia on the terrace or balcony during the summer months. The best temperature for good growth is between 10 and 30 degrees Celsius.
The suitable location
A key factor in ensuring that the Strelitzia develops flowers after a few years is the location. This should be light. With the exotic plant it is actually said that no place can have too much light. The evergreen plant feels comfortable in the sun. If such a location is not possible, a shady but light-flooded location can also be sufficient. Fortunately, the Strelitzia shows quite quickly whether it is happy with its location. If kept too dark, it will not develop large flowers.
It is also important that the Strelitzia does not get direct heating air or cool wind. The heating heat often exceeds the comfortable temperature and a cold draft, as it occurs when airing in the winter months,can prevent flowering or even cause the plant to die. Strelitzias like to be in bathrooms or in the kitchen. The temperature in these rooms is usually sufficient all year round, and the humidity caused by cooking or showering prevents diseases from spreading. So the Strelitzia needs:
- bright, sunny location
- Heat between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius
- high humidity
- no near heating
- no cold drafts
This is what the perfect floor should look like
The Strelitzia is relatively easy to care for when it comes to potting soil. You can put them in regular potting soil. But then you have to fertilize them more often. In addition, the soil must not become too firm, otherwise the water cannot drain off. Waterlogging would lead to root rot. It is therefore best to always use a permeable substrate in order to be able to experience the bird of paradise flower in all its splendour.
If you want to use simple potting soil but create the best conditions for your Strelitzia in the pot, you can upgrade the soil with clay powder, gravel and sand. The gravel prevents the earth from compacting. Due to the clay, it only stores water to a limited extent and the sand allows for an air-permeable consistency.
Plant Strelitzia
If you want to plant the Strelitzia in a bucket, it is best to put a drainage layer of expanded clay or something similar on the bottom of the bucket. Only then put the substrate in the bucket and place the roots on it. Fill the space between the roots and the pot wall with soil and carefully press it down. Then all you have to do is provide the Strelitzia with water.